Exploring the Bo Kaap

Cyril Johnson's story of the Bo Kaap is as insightful but in vivid colour, as he shouts a greeting to a family on their "stoep" or points out the piece of street where he lived - not in one of the deceptively deep homes, with their narrow fronts, but on the street itself, with newspapers as shelter.

Our walking tour begins at Dutch Manor Antique Hotel, a beautifully restored 300-year-old building which is now a charming place to stay. Johnson begins by paying homage to Yanic Smit, the hotel's general manager for her role in getting him off the streets, re-united with his estranged sister of 15 years and helping him again be a productive member of the community.

Standing out

"Cyril Johnson really stood out for me, and demonstrated a real enthusiasm and desire to better himself," says Smit. "He really wanted to work and make something of his life, so we decided to give him the opportunity to do so."

A fresco by Chiappini.

Smit decided that the best solution would be to provide Johnson with a means of acquiring income, and enrolled him in a tour guide course with Alive PTL, a THETA-accredited training provider, which is able to train tourist guides for National Certificate Level 2. "Cyril has lived on the Bo Kaap's streets for over 15 years, and so is well placed to show people the area. Not only is he incredibly knowledgeable, but very engaging, and it seemed like the perfect fit, and a great way to empower him to earn his own living," says Smit.

Seeing it for the first time

Johnson tells us that the stones for Bo Kaap's streets came from the Dutch ships where they were used as ballast, that there are seven mosques in the Bo Kaap and that the "Slaamse" community is very caring. "They would always give me food - never money or drink and some of the ladies would fix my clothes," he says with great affection.

Cyril Johnson shows Londoner Edward Mendelsohn a mosque gifted by the British.

As a local Capetonian whose experience of Bo Kaap is limited to Atlas Trading for spices, Rocksole to mend shoes or the Rose Street shortcut through the City, I felt as I'd seen a part of the city I know so well, for the first time. We walked through the alleys between the streets, darting the playing children and the clothing hanging from balconies. There is graffiti on a building so old, decrepit with gaping wounds, it was like looking at an x-ray of the centuries past.

A gift from Madiba

Cyril says the colourful houses of the Bo Kaap are a post-1994 gift from Mandela as a symbol from slavery to freedom. He takes the rest of the group up to a cemetery at the foot of Lion's Head but the road is too steep for me and I fortify myself instead with coffee and coconut cake at Rose Wale, a new eatery where the roads intersect.

We meet up again at Haas, and hear the story of the Kopi Luwak and its intestinal journey from the Civet to the cup; visit a local estate agent with a front section selling tourist keepsakes; leave Atlas trading with our noses still twitching from the mix of spices and incense and return to Dutch Manor - nearly two hours later.

Narrow cobbled streets are a feature of the Bo Kaap.

Where most tourist offerings are polished and slick, Cyril's Bo Kaap walk is the opposite. If you want to see the area in air-conditioned comfort, this journey is not for you. If however, you want to experience the area (as gritty and dangerous to ankles and heels it may be) Cyril will share his life and friends with you - and you may learn something, about one of the most ancient parts of Cape Town.

For more information go to www.DutchManor.co.za or call +27 (0) 21 422 4767.